As Wegmans ramps up theft prevention, here are 5 things to know about facial recognition technology

Popular supermarket chain Wegmans has started using facial recognition technology to collect biometric data on customers entering its New York City stores, the Rochester-based retailer said.

Wegmans, which has one location on Long Island, in Lake Grove, and about 50 statewide, has deployed facial recognition cameras at its two city stores to combat theft and to "identify individuals who have been previously flagged for misconduct," the company said in a statement to Newsday on Monday.

A Newsday photo taken at a Wegmans in Brooklyn shows a sign outside alerting customers of the technology. Media reports said a sign also had been posted at the chain's Manhattan store in Astor Place.

The technology, which has been used by retailers such as Lowe’s, Macy’s and Walmart, identifies individuals from digital images using artificial intelligence to analyze and compare facial features, according to Fight for the Future, a Boston-based digital rights advocacy group.

Officials with Wegmans declined to say whether the technology was being used at its Lake Grove store.

“For security and safety purposes, we do not get into the specific measures used at each store,” the company said in its emailed statement to Newsday. “In a small fraction of our stores that exhibit an elevated risk, we have deployed cameras equipped with facial recognition technology.”

The grocer said those stores “are in a handful of states.”

Amid increased rates of theft and violent crime reported by major store brands, retailers are increasingly using the technology or plan to use it to combat fraud and shoplifting, according to loss prevention experts. But the growing use of such technology has many advocacy groups concerned about the potential for that data to be stolen, misused or weaponized against communities of color that already face disproportionate police actions.

In response to concerns, some municipalities, including New York City, are requiring greater disclosure of the technology's use.

Since July 2021, New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has enforced a law requiring commercial establishments to post signage alerting customers the premises collect biometric data, such as facial recognition or eye scans.

Officials with the department did not respond to requests seeking comment on potential penalties for businesses that skirt the requirements.

“The risks are simply not worth the efficacy,” said Michelle Dahl, executive director of Manhattan-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a nonprofit pushing against discriminatory mass surveillance policies and for a statewide ban on facial recognition tech in publicly accessible spaces.

Here are five things to know about retailers and the growing use of facial recognition technology.

Why are retailers turning to facial recognition?

Experts and business groups say retailers have become more vigilant in their fight against repeat thefts.

From 2023 to 2024, surveyed retailers saw an average 19% increase in shoplifting and merchandise theft incidents, according to a 2025 report from the National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group.

Tools like facial recognition give them the ability to prevent theft or potentially unsafe conditions for employees and customers, said Cory Lowe, director of research with the Loss Prevention Research Council at the University of Florida.

“It’s serious but it’s not just theft,” Lowe said. “Some of these offenders are violent offenders.”

How does the technology work?

Using security cameras, facial recognition software can scan an individual’s facial features and compare them  with a database to identify a match. Retailers that have reported theft can, after the fact, add an offender’s face to an internal database that can be used to later identify the same individual, Lowe said.

Lowe said many incorrectly assume all customers’ biometric data is being saved indefinitely, but retailers are only interested in saving the data of serious offenders.

“They are really focused on those individuals who clearly cause harm,” he said.

What laws exist to restrict the use of facial recognition?

While New York City requires businesses to post signage to alert customers biometric data is being collected, no such laws exist on Long Island or statewide, attorneys and privacy advocates said.

Officials with Suffolk County said Monday there are no such laws regarding disclosure of the tech's use in the county. Nassau officials did not respond to requests seeking comment.

“There isn’t a comprehensive state law that gives consumers a clear right to know what’s going on, or to opt out,” said Nino Caridi, a Garden City-based attorney for small to mid-sized businesses on Long Island.

Why is there opposition to the technology’s use?

“At its core, we believe consumers shouldn’t have to surrender over their biometric data,” Dahl said. “It’s not like a password. Once that data is stored, if there is a breach or hack, you can’t change your face.”

And while security researchers like Lowe said retailers only hold onto the data of offenders for limited periods, Dahl said all customers still have to face having their biometric data collected to make comparisons, even if for a short while.

Additionally, she said, the technology presents a two-pronged problem for both New Yorkers with dark skin and women that can lead to misidentification and perpetuate bias.

Facial recognition’s error rate for light-skinned men is 0.8%, compared with an error rate of 34.7% for darker-skinned women, according to 2018 research published by MIT Media Lab.

What is the future for the technology?

Former Amazon executive Dave Selinger, CEO of California-based Deep Sentinel, an AI-powered video surveillance company with business customers on Long Island, said it’s imperative that both tech firms and retailers take greater steps to be transparent about how they are using facial recognition.

“The retail chains are not doing everything they can, the technology companies are not doing everything they can, and in the middle, you have the employees and consumers who are affected.”

Selinger, whose company does not use or collect biometric data, said while he can understand the necessity of tackling theft and security concerns, and even sees the utility of facial recognition in that goal, it must be accompanied with transparency.

“Unless [retailers] are publishing exactly how they retain that data and how they use it and their intent … they fail,” he said.

Newsday's Tory N. Parrish contributed to this story.